Monday, January 01, 2007

Tale of Two Women

Here, Salena Zito speculates that Nancy Pelosi may end up being Hillary Clinton's biggest problem as she tries to advance her campaign for president. Will Pelosi advance a left-wing agenda that Hillary will, unwillingly, have to support? Is the country ready for two women in the top three political jobs in the United States?

The truth is that Hillary's biggest problem isn't on the one hand that Pelosi's a leftist, or on the other, that she's a woman. The problem is that she's the most difficult combination possible for Hillary: That is, a liberal woman.

In other words, if Pelosi were a male liberal, the presentation of a liberal agenda could give Hillary some problems, but wouldn't necessarily be associated with her or her views (any more than with any other Democrat's). And if Pelosi were a female conservative, Hillary would have room to draw contrasts, even as she implicitly benefited from what would likely be a conservative female speaker's strength when it comes to military affairs.

Instead, Pelosi will only enhance the two biggest fears that most voters have about Hillary: One, that behind the facade of moderation, she's actually an unreconstructed leftist; and two, that she's soft when it comesto military affairs -- if not actually hostile to the military itself.